More than 70 members of five area Toastmasters clubs attended an area contest last month. First-place winners Doug Devine and Ralph Gordon will represent the area in the division contest.

Contest participants included Bill Pardee, Doug Devine, Torkil Hammer, Ralph Gordon, Jesse Hulse, Linda Fisher-Helton, Taylor Clark, Brian Roche, Vicki Foster and C. Wayne Sebera.

These members had previously won contests in their local clubs.

For more information send an e-mail to Melanie Ghazarian at aghazarian@aol.com.

In related news, the Conejo Valley Toastmasters salutes its club members Greg Spaulding on being chosen the "Sparkplug" and Debbie Tash as the "Toastmaster of the Year" for Area B3, representing Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village.

The "Sparkplug" award recognizes the one individual whose efforts injected the most energy and life into Toastmasters.

The "Toastmaster of the Year" award recognizes one member having exceptional educational accomplishments, club service, dedication and enthusiasm.

Spaulding currently serves the Conejo Valley Toastmasters Club as its vice president of membership, runs his own marketing company called "Marketing Methodology," and represents the club in the Thousand Oaks / Westlake Village Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Tash also serves the Conejo Valley Toastmasters Club as its vice president of education, and she’s a fiction writer. Her novels include the bestseller "Dancing in Circles."

For more information about the Conejo Valley Toastmasters club, call (805) 405-2411.